Fan Power question...

Fire_Gryphon · 22-January-03, 10:48 PM

Im planning on getting the nexus fan controller, butI need a little info. I've got 4 identical 80mm fans in the bottom front of my case, and I'd would be nice if I could hook them all up to the same controller knob. I really dont want to use up all of the slots on the Nexus for just my front fans. Will there be enough power from the Nexus for me to splice all the fan wires together and run them all off the same knob?

putwig · 22-January-03, 11:00 PM

you will need to check the wattage rating of the nexus.

the product info should include maximum watts per channel info.

also, we need to know the specs for the fans.

Edit: looked it up in BA's review. The Nexus supports 15 - 18 watts per channel.

So the answer depends entirely on your fans. ]

Average 80mm case fans are probably 3-5 watts. If you have 4 high speed Sunons, or Delta Screamers, probably not a good idea!

Fire_Gryphon · 23-January-03, 09:20 PM

Thanks for the help, but all I could find out about my fans are that they are Everflow 80mm fans. The only site I could find with a few specs was this one:

http://www.directron.com/r128025.html

and it doesn't seem to have wattage info...

n00bishLaggeR · 23-January-03, 10:28 PM

you can chop those molex's off each fan and soter the +'s and -'s appropriatly all into one connector to connect to the nexus with no powering problems IMHO

Jonny English · 23-January-03, 10:34 PM

Fire, if you're in doubt, you could measure the current each fan draws when running with a multimeter (I think a multimeter should be the first tool a modder buys, even - gasp - before buying a Dremel), then throw Ohms Law at it...

Watts = (Volts * mA) / 1000, so as you know the voltage (12V), you can plug that & the current draw in mA into the equation, for example if your fan is drawing 250mA (0.25A), it's using 3W:
(12 * 250) / 1000 = Watts
(3000) / 1000 = 3W.

Sorry if that's baby talking you, but a lot of people regard Ohms Law as something akin to witchcraft ...

Fire_Gryphon · 23-January-03, 10:41 PM

certainly not baby talk, since im barely with you there.

Thanks for the help

ungarmax · 23-January-03, 10:50 PM

heh, my guess is that to be on the safe side, run em in pairs...it would take up 2 knobs, but my guess is that the nexus can handle 2 fans per channel unless theyre really draining fans. after that, let us know what happens.

22-January-03, 10:48 PM		#1 (permalink)
Fire_Gryphon Apex Techie Lite	Fan Power question... Im planning on getting the nexus fan controller, butI need a little info. I've got 4 identical 80mm fans in the bottom front of my case, and I'd would be nice if I could hook them all up to the same controller knob. I really dont want to use up all of the slots on the Nexus for just my front fans. Will there be enough power from the Nexus for me to splice all the fan wires together and run them all off the same knob?

22-January-03, 11:00 PM		#2 (permalink)
putwig Dr. Hydro Pimp	you will need to check the wattage rating of the nexus. the product info should include maximum watts per channel info. also, we need to know the specs for the fans. Edit: looked it up in BA's review. The Nexus supports 15 - 18 watts per channel. So the answer depends entirely on your fans. ] Average 80mm case fans are probably 3-5 watts. If you have 4 high speed Sunons, or Delta Screamers, probably not a good idea! Last edited by putwig; 23-January-03 at 12:54 AM..

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23-January-03, 09:20 PM		#3 (permalink)
Fire_Gryphon Apex Techie Lite	Thanks for the help, but all I could find out about my fans are that they are Everflow 80mm fans. The only site I could find with a few specs was this one: http://www.directron.com/r128025.html and it doesn't seem to have wattage info...

23-January-03, 10:28 PM		#4 (permalink)
n00bishLaggeR losernoOb	you can chop those molex's off each fan and soter the +'s and -'s appropriatly all into one connector to connect to the nexus with no powering problems IMHO

23-January-03, 10:34 PM		#5 (permalink)
Jonny English Etiquette & English Gentleman	Fire, if you're in doubt, you could measure the current each fan draws when running with a multimeter (I think a multimeter should be the first tool a modder buys, even - gasp - before buying a Dremel), then throw Ohms Law at it... Watts = (Volts * mA) / 1000, so as you know the voltage (12V), you can plug that & the current draw in mA into the equation, for example if your fan is drawing 250mA (0.25A), it's using 3W: (12 * 250) / 1000 = Watts (3000) / 1000 = 3W. Sorry if that's baby talking you, but a lot of people regard Ohms Law as something akin to witchcraft ...

23-January-03, 10:41 PM		#6 (permalink)
Fire_Gryphon Apex Techie Lite	certainly not baby talk, since im barely with you there. Thanks for the help

23-January-03, 10:50 PM		#7 (permalink)
ungarmax Apex Master Tech Apprentice	heh, my guess is that to be on the safe side, run em in pairs...it would take up 2 knobs, but my guess is that the nexus can handle 2 fans per channel unless theyre really draining fans. after that, let us know what happens.